African allies chided for silence on Libyan uprising

(GIN) – Years of financially supportive relationships with Libya’s Moammar Al Gaddafi have created a moral dilemma for African leaders who have said little as violence flares in that northern nation.

Their delayed reaction to the blood spilling on the streets of Tripoli generated sharp criticism from opinion setters. Moses Chamboko, writing in the Zimbabwe Telegraph, did not mince words.

“Unashamedly, African leaders have literally gone on leave while their beloved but lunatic brother in the north is busy butchering innocent and unarmed civilians mercilessly,” Chamboko wrote. “Like the proverbial ostrich, from Cape to Cairo, leaders buried their heads in the sand hoping a miracle would deliver them and their dear brother from this monumental disgrace.”

In “Libya Exposes the African Union,” Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor of Ghana wrote: “The state of affairs in these North African countries had been known to the African Union all these years, but it didn’t deem it feasible to take action on. Couldn’t the AU take pre-emptive measures to bring those autocrats back into step to avert what we are witnessing today?” he asked.

An editorial in the Liberian Observer opined: “By all accounts, Gaddafi's rule redistributed the enormous wealth it garnered from the exports of crude oil and natural gas… But that wealth also emboldened him to make expansionist forays into other countries, like encouraging one side in the civil war in Chad, and supporting guerrilla movements in Latin American countries and in Africa.

“…Despite the over four decades he has been in power, the country lacks a constitution, apart from the so-called Green Book which he authored; there is no parliament; there is no democracy; there is no avenue for dissent; nor is there a clear line for succession. Gaddafi needs to recognize that the world has moved on; he should move with the time by listening to the cries of his people.”